Tag Archives: Cat Power

LxL’s Best Albums of 2012

3 Jan

Top 20 Best Albums of 2012 including El-P, Jack White, and Fiona Apple

2012 turned out to be a pretty great year in music.  I think all three of us would agree the offerings in 2012 were deep in really good albums, without many albums rising to the level of true greatness.  That being said, I think I would rather have a pool of 60-80 really good albums come out in a year than 9-10 great albums.  Around here, we like variety, and we certainly got it this year.  There was a surprisingly surge of good hip-hop released in the second half of the year (Killer Mike, Nas, Meek Mill).  There was the long-awaited return of all-timer female singer songwriter types (Fiona Apple, Cat Power, Regina Spektor).  And there were also several much-anticipated sophomore wide releases (Sleigh Bells, Tame Impala, Beach House, Twin Shadow).  All in all, there may not have been a lot of perfect albums this year, but it was still a great year in music.  Enjoy the top 20.
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LxL’s Best Songs of 2012

3 Jan

Songs and Artists of 2012

Well, after a short Holiday hiatus, we are back! And our end of year coverage continues with the most difficult list to assemble: our favorite songs of 2012. Why is a songs list so difficult to construct you say? Because there is so friggin’ many of them, it’s very hard to reach a consensus. For example we may absolutely love two songs on an album fairly equally, like First Aid Kit’s “Lions Roar” and “EmmyLou”, but we might split our vote causing neither to make the list. But even with the challenging aspects of making this list, it was a blast to make and look back at all the songs that colored our year. Here are our favorites:

20. AlunaGeorge – “Your Drums, Your Love”

New London electronic duo AlunaGeorge, consisting of singer Aluna Francis and producer George Reid (naturally), hit the electronic field by storm in 2012 with an EP and hopes of a full-length to come in the upcoming year. “Your Drums, Your Love” wrings of the slick, wry, and pretty production that Lilly Allen brings to the table, but with an added dimension of electronic touches and an unshakable chime of voices repeating “your drums” to take it over the top.
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LxListening: Four Ladies and a Little Man

26 Oct

This post is kind of like this…but not at all.

For this week’s Lxlistening, I wanted to highlight several tracks that have come out this year whose album we failed to review.  Even though each album was noteworthy enough for me to go, “Hey guys, I’m gonna review this”, for some reason reviewing another album (or life in general) got in the way.  Good or bad (mostly good), I hoped this week to give you a some brief feelings on the album as well as the chosen track.  And yes, surprise surprise, my focus is mostly on strong female singers this week.  But hey, even the only man on the list is attracted to dudes, so I have some semblance of a theme.  Here we go.
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Top Ten Thursday: Albums to the Tune of Autumn

27 Sep

Wes’ old dog Slippers running through the fallen leaves.
-R.I.P. Slippers- (1989-2001)

Yes, this is the same exact list we posted last year, but we were happy enough with it that we would like to remind everyone of our greatness.  Don’t worry though, look for a completely fresh fall-themed list this afternoon, but for now LxL would like to share what albums put us in that apple cider, leaves off trees, pumpkin picking/carving/eating, and brisk fresh air type of mood.
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Alanis Morissette Review: Havoc and Bright Lights

28 Aug

Alanis Morissette

Havoc & Bright Lights

havoc and bright lights, alanis morissette, album, cover, art

For some reason 2012 has become the year of the powerful female singer-songwriter releasing an album after a long hiatus (Fiona Apple, Cat Power, Sinead O’Connor) or trying to come back from a disappointing effort (Regina Spektor, Norah Jones).  Alanis Morissette is trying to capitalize on this trend with her first album in five years, Havoc and Bright Lights, and I fully expect Natalie Merchant and Sarah McLachlan to pile on as well.  In all seriousness, I haven’t listened to an Alanis record since Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (her sophomore album), and was shocked to learn she has released three albums in the interim between Junkie and Havoc.  Alanis recent work has literally been more of a part of my consciousness through her appearance on a couple of seasons of Weeds, than she has been through me listening to any of her recent music.

This is strange, because I’m not sure Alanis ever did anything to lose me as a fan.  I still revisit Jagged Little Pill, and the magnificent “Uninvited” quite often.  I think more than anything, her past three albums have not gotten any singles press, and she just kind of faded out of my view.  That is all about to change, and I am going to lift my blinders to Alanis Morissette for better or for worse.
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